4 Link Building Strategies That Still Work In 2018

Although SEO is a rapidly evolving field, some things remain constant. One of them is the need to build links, establishing connections between your site and others that boost your ranking in Google’s search results. But many of the link building techniques of yore aren’t cutting it anymore. Google has cracked down on link spamming and other underhanded ways of increasing a site’s ranking. So what’s a link builder to do? The tactics below have proven to be effective in 2018, even as others have become obsolete.

1. Use Video Content to Build Links

Two-thirds of SEO experts say they think link building with videos is an effective method—and for a group of people that rarely agree on anything, that’s significant. Hosting videos on your own website (that are easy for people to share) is preferable to using YouTube, since none of the backlinks you earn will end up in Google’s hands. But if you do use YouTube, check out their analytics section. In Traffic Sources, you can take a look at the origin of your traffic and see if there are any opportunities for backlinks—like sites embedding your video. Reach out and ask if they’ll include a link to your site.

2. Invest in Unique, Valuable Content

The most honest way of building links is also one of the most difficult and time-consuming. If you’re able to create content that people in your field can’t help but link to, you’ll rack up backlinks quickly. Think about things like original research or compelling data on a topic related to your industry. These things tend to catch the interest of other webmasters looking for content—and since these backlinks will be from sites relevant to your target audience, they’ll boost your ranking for major keywords.

3. Hijack Competitor’s Backlinks

It’s never a bad idea to keep an eye on the competition, especially when you can convert your opponent’s assets into your own. One way of doing this is to enter a search term you’d like to rank for, copy the URL of the top-ranked page, and then use Ahrefs Site Explorer to check out the backlinks that got it to that lofty position. If you see a lot of backlinks from the same sites, that means the site is interested in your industry and may be just as likely to link to your site.

4. Link Up with Relevant Outlets on Social Media

Social media is an opportunity to build in-house backlinks, but it can also be a direct way of reaching other sites that are willing to link to yours. Follow the social accounts for sites you would like to earn backlinks from, interact with them, and post things that you think will catch their attention. Analyze your content to see what gets the most engagement and continue to post along these lines. If you demonstrate that your content gets clicks, people will notice and be more likely to link to you.

Link building is the busywork of SEO. Use these techniques to make it a little less busy and a little more effective.